Pages

Saturday, March 16, 2013

We made it ! Recently, 45 students and 10 parents (and Mrs D) from G.W. Long Elementary launched off for an overnite visit to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA.

First, a bit of history...... Bernie Marcus, one of the founders of Home Depot was enjoying his 60th birthday at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and it inspired him to help create an aquarium in his hometown of Atlanta. He donated $250 million to launch the effort and it was the largest aquarium in the world when it opened in 2005. THANKS MR MARCUS!!

Our 5th and 6th graders enjoyed an overnite trip to the aquarium and the staff provided us a "behind the scenes" view of what goes on with these amazing animals. Thanks to all who helped make this trip possible and to the parents who joined us for this adventure! You helped us take one more step on the journey of Science!

Dissecting Squid! - Now I see how that works!

Never Been to a Petting Zoo Quite Like This!

Sleeping with the Sharks, and Whales, and Barracuda.... Yawn!

More Fun and Learning than any of us Expected !

Ask any of these Young Scientists.... they will tell you Learning is Great Fun!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Your body’s immune system protects you against bad germs (called ANTIGENS) every day. In most cases, the immune system
does a great job of keeping people healthy but
sometimes problems can lead to illness and infection.

The immune system includes cells, tissues,
and organs that work together to protect the body. The cells involved are white
blood cells (called LEUKOCYTES), which seek out and destroy the antigens.During this process, the white blood cells
produce special proteins (called ANTIBODIES) to fight the antigens.

Once produced, antibodies continue to
exist in a person's body, so that if the same antigen is presented to the
immune system again, the antibodies are already there to do their job. So if
someone gets sick with a certain disease, like chickenpox, that person
typically doesn't get sick from it again.

This is also how immunizations prevent diseases. An
immunization introduces the body to an antigen in a way that doesn't make
someone sick, but does allow the body to produce antibodies that will then
protect the person from future attack by the germ or substance that produces
that particular disease.

Your body – an amazing creation!

Checkout this video to learn more about your immune system
and ways to stay healthy!